"Lord Liang's hesitant manner suggests he's somewhat reluctant to speak. Could it be that Lord Liang was originally in cahoots with this person behind the scenes, and out of loyalty to his former master, he's trying to cover for him?" Huo Chengche said coolly to Liang Sheng.
Liang Sheng: ? ? ?
Upon hearing Huo Chengche's words, Liang Sheng's heart trembled. He quickly looked up and saw Emperor Chongjin, his face contorted with rage, staring intently at him.
Liang Sheng was startled and immediately stopped stammering, retorting, "How can Your Highness slander me without any evidence! I have been working day and night for the past two days, exhausting myself to complete the task Your Highness assigned me!"
Seeing Liang Sheng revert to his usual eloquent self-deprecating manner, and listening to his impassioned defense of himself, Huo Chengche sneered and said casually, "Oh, so why is Lord Liang so reluctant to reveal the mastermind? I thought..."
"Who said I wouldn't speak!" Liang Sheng's face turned red with anger, and he was so angry that he forgot to fear the emperor's might.
He immediately turned around, bowed to Emperor Chongjin, and said, “Your Majesty! Your humble servant has discovered that the mastermind behind this is Minister of Personnel Cheng Wenli! Your humble servant has collected a great deal of evidence against Minister Cheng, and although it is not yet complete, it is sufficient for your humble servant to accuse Minister Cheng in court.”
Cheng Wenli, Minister of Personnel?
Huo Chengche was genuinely surprised that it was him, and his expression turned somewhat strange.
Upon hearing this name, Emperor Chongjin first glanced at Huo Chengche, and only after seeing his expression did his tightly furrowed brows relax.
"Alright, I understand," Emperor Chongjin sighed heavily, his gloomy expression softening. He then instructed the three children, two adults and one child, "You have performed a great service today. Leave the rest to me."
As he spoke, Emperor Chongjin looked at the little baby with her chubby cheeks perched on her older brother's shoulder, her dark eyes darting around, looking quite unhappy, and couldn't help but smile.
"I think Niannian hasn't had enough fun yet, has she? It's still early, you two take Niannian to play for a while, especially you," Emperor Chongjin winked at Huo Chengche.
"You'll be going back to school in a couple of days. In the morning you'll be studying classics and history, and in the afternoon you'll be practicing riding and archery. You'll be training hard in the sweltering summer and freezing winter, and you won't have a moment's rest all year round. Take advantage of this time to relax for a couple of days."
Huo Chengche knew that after this incident, Emperor Chongjin intended to have him enter the court earlier, so he simply smiled faintly and agreed.
After leaving the Qiantai Palace, Xuandi nudged Huo Chengche and asked, "Is there anything special about this Minister of Personnel, Cheng Wenli?"
Huo Chengche explained calmly, "Besides being the Minister of Personnel, Cheng Wenli is also the tutor of the eldest prince."
Logically speaking, princes do not have their own tutors.
However, among the princes who are now of legal age, the eldest prince is the son of Consort Xue, and he is sixteen years old this year.
The second prince, born to Consort Shu, was born with a defective constitution and was extremely weak. The former Imperial Preceptor Ye Ji saw that he was destined for a life of ease and took him back to a Taoist temple in the suburbs of the capital to raise him. Later, he went on a pilgrimage with Master Ye Ji and has not been heard from since.
The third prince was Huo Chengche, the legitimate son of the Empress Dowager. The fourth prince died young, the fifth prince was nine years old, and the sixth prince was five years old.
Crown Prince Huo Chengche naturally studied the ways of the king on his own, with his teachers being the three tutors and three junior tutors of the Eastern Palace, namely the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor, Grand Preceptor, and Grand Protector, and the Junior Tutor, Junior Protector, and Junior Preceptor.
The other princes studied together, just like the sons of noble families, only needing to learn the Four Books and Five Classics and the ways of being a subject.
However, among the ordinary princes who were close in age to the eldest prince, the second prince was not in the palace, the fourth prince had died, and the fifth and sixth princes were too young, so the eldest prince also received special treatment and, like the crown prince, had his own private tutor.
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